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Magic
The following is an excerpt on a treatsie of magic as given by the hero Cantrip, first to Flourish and then to several other magic imbued heroes. The Basics of Magic "Magic is the manipulation of the six primary building blocks of all creation: light, void, air, earth, fire, and water. Each of the Primes also correspond to a human concept which helps us better to identify with them and use them to our advantage. Light is Creation, void is Entropy, air is Intellect, earth is Strength, fire is Emotion, and water is Adaptation. When you tap into one of the Primes and get that energy flowing, you are performing a Rote. When you combine rotes, you are achieving an Effect or Result. "For instance, let's say you wanted to trap a foe in a block of ice, but you want it to look really ominous; say, black ice with a sparkle of black energy. Well, we know that ice is water, so our first Rote begins in the channeling of the water Prime. Our second Rote will be Void, to turn the ice black. Now we have two Rotes going at once. We want sparklies, so we have to tap into the third Rote, light. Push all three rotes together and bam! our enemy is trapped in a block of black ice that sparkles with dark radiance. The magic user has to understand that all magic requires light, or, Creation. If you don't Rote into Creation your magic will have no effect because Creation is what makes the Effect happen. ''Lets look now at each of the Primes and what exactly it is they do so that we can begin to understand which one we have to Rote in order to achieve the desired Effect. '''Light/Creation'- This is the governing force of magic. Some schools refer to it as Prime, Mana, or Quintessence. Creation is the fuel of magical effects. It creates matter from nothing and is the fuel that allows the Effect to manifest in our earthly realm. No magic will succeed if the caster does not flow Creation through his rotes. In magical texts it is represented by the symbol of a white circle. Void- Void is nothingness, emptiness, and the end. In other schools of magic it is called Omega, Entropy, or Chaos. It is pure destructive power; it does nothing but destroy that which has already been created. Void is the force called upon when executing curses and hexes, or any rotes that cause damage or impairment to matter. It is the counter-balance of Light; where light demands that all things be Void demands that all things must come to an end. In magical writings it is represented by a black circle. Air '''is the base element of movement. It is the element drawn upon for traversing distance in the blink of an eye, astral projection, or clairvoyance.Air is heavy with Light. It is also the driving force of intellect; creativity, and imagination. In magical writing is it represented by a white triangle. '''Earth '''is the base element of stability. It is the driving force behind magic that invoke defensive rotes: shields, walls, armor, blockades. It is the unstoppable force and the immovable object. Earth is tenacious and unforgiving, it does not bend easily. Earth also governs rotes that impede movement in any way. In magical writing it is symbolized by a circle within a circle. '''Fire '''is the base element of consumption. Fire consumes everything in its path, it takes what is and reduces it to nothing. Fire is heavy with Void. Fire is raw, base emotion; whether that emotion be positive or negative. Fire rotes generally deal with consuming the matter or influencing emotion in others or ourselves. In magical writing it is represented by an inverted triangle with a line through it lengthwise. '''Water '''is the base element of renewal. Water cleanses, refreshes, and redirects. Water is transformation and adaptation, whether we are physically transmuting one element to another or changing ourselves into an animal form. Water is the driving force of change within and change without. It is represented in magical writings by a triangle with a line drawn through it lengthwise. "Got it so far? Good. Pop Quiz: When I change myself into an alligator, what two Primes am I drawing on? When I lob a fireball at you, what two Primes am I drawing on? "Now, a '''Rote '''is the process of putting magic into action. A Rote has many names: spell, incantation, witchery, the list goes on and on. The most common word used to describe setting magic into motion that we use in our community is rote. When you are quote, casting a spell, unquote what you are doing is weaving a rote. When the magic is unleashed upon the world, it's called an Effect. Rote is the act of putting magic into action, Effect is the result of that action. Got it? Okay, there are some other terms you need to know because they can be used wrong and cause confusion. When you're speaking to another magic user, try and be sure you're using the correct terminology or you'll come across sounding like an inept idiot. '''Invocation: An invocation is a cry for help from a stronger or more authoritative person but not causing them to materialize in our world. Invocations are used a lot by summoners and necromancers. When you invoke something, you're trying to get the attention of a deity or spirit being so that you can ask them for help. Evocation: Now, when you evocate, you are calling to a deity or entity and bringing it to manifestation in the physical world. This is where the idea off summoning up demons, devils, and monsters came from. It's a very dangerous practice, and I don't recommend doing it. So, when you invoke you call for help, when you evoke you make the entity you want help from to become solid and tangible in the real world. Got it? Good. Goetia: Goetia refers to the practice of only evoking angels or demons, nothing else. It's a very old word, from the 17th century, and not much used any more. But very serious magician you meet, when you tell them 'Oh, I use Goetia', will understand what you mean. What Are You? "Many magic users don't just call themselves magic users. That's for a reason. If you say 'hey there, I'm a magic user' to another magician, the other guy is likely to think you're uneducated, inept, or downright stupid. Most practitioners of magic follow the tenets of one school of magic or another and refer to themselves by the appropriate titles, depending on what their strengths are. Regardless...what are you? Goetian: Goetians utilize only the invocation or evocation of angels and demons. That's it. If you're calling up these horrible dog faced demons or beautiful Caravaggio angels to fight for you or play house with you, you're a Goetian. Thaumaturge: These magic-users rely on the written word to perform their rotes. Arcane symbols, languages, rhyming poems, or hell even song lyrics, are the realm of the Thaumaturgist. Write it down, speak it out; you're a Thaumaturge. Magician: Magicians use rotes to deceive, befuddle, and misdirect. These sly little guys will have you insisting that Thursday is Saturday, your toe is on fire, and he just pulled that effing rabbit from a hat. Don't confuse a practicing magician with a prestidigitator, the stage magician. Prestidigitators use sleight of hand. Magicians do it for real. Summoner: Like the title says, you summon things. Animals, spirits, tools, tubs of lard, who cares. The Summoner's strength is calling up something or someone to help him out. Necromancer: Ha, big scary word, necromancer. This is the guy that hangs out with zombies and raises the dead, right? Wrong. Sooo wrong. True necromancy is gleaning information from the dead. A real necromancer uses all kinds of tools to bring up the dead and talk to them. That's all he does. Apostate: Apostates throw rotes around that have a religious theme or element to them. These guys specialize in banishing, ritualistic exorcisms, and stuff like that. Sorcerer: These guys show you what destruction is all about. Sorcerers are brutal, and their rotes are not flashy or pretty. Sorcerers blow things up and smash things down. Destroying stuff is all that these guys are into and they wouldn't have it any other way. Mage: Mages specialize in elemental effects. Air, water, earth, and fire; a Mage commands them and uses them--and only them--to get their Effects. Almost all Mages specialize in just one element, but mages that use two or even all four are not unheard of. Macabre: Okay, now that we've got most of our terminology straight, the macabre is the cruel guy that builds armies of zombies or other undead. Side note, they also get a kick out of being mistaken for necromancers. Macabre magic violates all social nicesties and norms, so don't expect to have many friends or allies if you're a macabre. Conjuror: Just what the name implies, Conjurors..well, conjure things. They make something from nothing, whether that something is a screwdriver they need to finish assembling their book case or creating a magnificent four course meal for their friends. Tools of the Trade Write the second section of your page here. Category:Magic